LILAMA achieves outstanding feat in Nhon Trach 3&4 Plant Project

LILAMA technicians’ courage emerged on national project

The exact time of 01h38’ on October 8^th 2025 became a very memorable moment to thousands of LILAMA engineers and workers when the working sound of the turbine in the trusted running shift of Nhon Trach 3 Gas Power Plant Project raised like a triumph march after over 1,000 man-hour days of dedication on site.

Engineer Ho Van Hien and other LILAMA skilled engineers working

After over three years constructing under harsh conditions including an extreme weather in Dong Nai River downstream with numerous challenges in performing installing work for the most advanced and complicated 9HA.02 model gas turbine in the world with strict requirement on technical, Nhon Trach 3 plant has been officially completed and ready for commercial operation.

It could be said that Nhon Trach 3&4 LNG project was not only a key national project, but also a test to the capability of LILAMA– a business leader in the mechanical machinery industry in Vietnam for their competency of mastering the world-class technology.

Mr. Lai Hai Trieu – Nhon Trach 3&4 LILAMA Deputy Project Manager said: “The efficiency of a 9HA.02 turbine can reach 64% when working. Therefore, our biggest challenge in dealing with it was the adjusting work for giant size of the Gas Turbine-Generator-Steam Turbine component having an exceeding length of 70m totally with a permitted tolerance of only 0.03mm which was even thinner than a strand of hair”.

The entire system would not work if occurring such any little deviation. Therefore, preciseness was absolutely required in all technical steps from measuring and adjusting work to bolts tightening for equipment. During the whole process, LILAMA technicians in coordination with the contractor’s foreign experts had to remeasure tens of times until preciseness perfectly reached.

Engineer Ho Van Hien, a sixty-year-old, who is a 7/7-grade mechanic technician keeping working for days and nights on site talked about his job with a pride shining in his eyes: “The tolerance of 0.03 mm is a quite strict requirement”. There’s a time we had to reiterate dozens of times, zoom per tiny mark. But when the system running smoothly, we looked at each other and laughed, and all our tiredness disappeared.

Behind those workers’ laughter were arduous working years. On the project site, in rainy seasons when mud highly flooded up to their knees, they stayed steadfast to work beside the huge turbine rack; and in the heat of 38-40-degree of the sunny days, they patiently watched for each item being installed. No one complained because they knew each bolt tightened would make up a stride for Vietnam coming nearer the progress of energy independence.

According to the report sent to the State Acceptance Council, all the project main items had been completed on schedule. Particularly, LILAMA in coordination with relating state agencies accomplished the test-running – trusted running – continuous operation for the plant and met all strict regulations and standards required.

After 72-hour gas-fueled trusted running, Nhon Trach 3 plant will change into DO-fueled running, and next 15-day circle for LNG fired– a ready step for commercial operation by November 2025. At the same time, Nhon Trach 4 plant – the twins of Nhon Trach 3 – will be also put into test-run for combined cycle operation and expected to connect into the national grid by December 2025.

These important milestones not only marked a new growth of the project progress, but also strongly confirmed the capability of mastering advanced power technology by the Vietnam technicians – that’s LILAMA labourers of courage, discipline and creativity.

Preserving job – preserving “fire” on the journey toward national industrialization

As the first LNG power project in Vietnam, Nhon Trach 3&4 is symbolized for the transformation of the domestic machinery and installation industry – the field is considered as a main foundation of the national industrialization program.

The panorama view of the Nhon Trach 3&4 LNG power plant project. Photo: Duc Bao

Under the contract signed, the most complicated works of mechanical engineering installation and commissioning were undertaken by LILAMA as the role of EPC contractor. Therefore, to keep the project on-schedule as well as manage and execute it smoothly within the circumstance of covid 19 pandemic’s impact causing lack of manpower afterward had demonstrated LILAMA collective’s courage of over 3,000 labourers here in overcoming all difficulties.

According to Mr. Trieu, there were over 3,200 labourers working on site including engineers, mechanic workers, teams of welders, and adjustment technicians…. in the highest rushing time. Each person was an indispensable chain of the giant machine. “They worked all days and nights, only had three to four hours to rest and sleep, but no one ever left his shift. Because they knew that the whole project progress would be delayed if each phase was late”, said he.

The above story about LILAMA technicians is a lively illustration for a value of professional skill and passion. No matter callus on their hands and sweatered labour uniforms, they stayed consistent with a simple believe: “Do precisely, let the machine works smoothly, that’s great.”

The Engineer like Hien - “a giant tree” of LILAMA with over 40 years working as an experienced technician who is both the skillful and inspiring man in his career shared: “We had gone through so many projects, and now we expect the younger gen also have passion and perseverance with their job as machinery workers for preserving that enthusiasm fire.”

However, not only pride, LILAMA also had a latent concern: the lack of source of well-skilled workers. “At present, most of LILAMA’s adjustment technicians and welders are at the age of over 40. If there is any mechanism for training and upgrading the succeeding generation, this resource shall be considerably decreased for 5 to 10 years”, Mr. Trieu wondered.

To LILAMA, preserving machinery expertise means preserving fire for traditional profession. That “professional fire” has been forged throughout dozens of large key projects from Tri An Hydropower and Pha Lai Thermal Power to the petrol, gas, pro-chemical, coal fired ones, and now the LNG – those are all national statures.

LILAMA – through national key projects to ambition of energy self-reliance

Nhon Trach 3&4 has marked a new advance in the energy transition process towards sustainable development and carbon emission reduction in Vietnam. But in a more extensive aspect, it reflected a challenge “going through fire and water” of the domestic mechanical industry – in which LILAMA is a pioneer.

Being a mechanical contractor, LILAMA is also a “groundbreaker” who opens the way for Vietnamese machinery industry to reach the international standard, especially through Nhon Trach 3&4 project, LILAMA themselves gradually mastered H-generation turbine – the most complicated technology in the world today.

According to Trieu, the most difficult part of the project is adjusting the 70m-long single shaft turbine with a permitted tolerance of only 0.04 mm. He said: “This is the first time LILAMA technicians dealt with this technology. As before, we only performed assembly work at basic level, but now we did carry out all the key phases directly from adjustment to acceptance.”

In day time, foreign experts worked 8 hours; in night time, LILAMA engineer team “lighted on” in the workshop, read and drew, tinkered to find out how to implement while securing the execution progress. And through this process, LILAMA technicians have learned the way to reach the world standards with their own minds and hands.

It’s not limited to just one project, the success of Nhon Trach 3&4 shall create butterfly effect to pervading series of the next LNG, pro-chemical and other kinds of clean energy works that Vietnam is heading forward.

This success is also a foundation for LILAMA to continuously enhance the position as a mechanical and machinery business at regional level with strong capability to cover overseas projects stretching from South east Asia to the Middle East.

On the social-economic perspective, the project is a confirmation: when having confidence, will and a right strategy of human resource development, Vietnam is completely able to master the complicated technology, not just importing it.

With their tears and creative minds, these LILAMA technicians have proved the above confirmation to become true through their work with each pipe, steel structure erected and smallest bolts tightened.

From those early arduous days till the time Nhon Trach 3&4 readily in commercial operation, the journey that LILAMA has gone by is of Vietnam’s will and pride.

Admits the grumble of working turbine near Dong Nai River, there is not only the sound of steel, wind and fired gas, but the heartbeat of thousands of hard-working labourers on site.

They themselves are LILAMA machinery technicians have been writing out their own story of “Vietnamese minds and hands to mastering the world modern technology.”

Nguyen Duyen, Audit Magazine